The changing nature of UK construction professional service firms

Connaughton, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8878-8589 and Meikle, J. (2013) The changing nature of UK construction professional service firms. Building Research and Information, 41 (1). pp. 95-109. ISSN 0961-3218 doi: 10.1080/09613218.2013.742366

Abstract/Summary

Professional services firms (PSFs) have been the subject of much attention in the literature in recent years, ranging across a number of distinct but related disciplines including economics, sociology, organisation and management studies. Analysis has tended to concentrate on law and accounting firms in particular and, although there is a growing academic interest in construction / built environment professional services firms (CPSFs), these have received much less scrutiny. However, many of the changes taking place among PSFs – in particular growth in firm size, moves towards external ownership and greater service/geographical diversification – are also taking place among the larger CPSFs. The CPSF sector is not especially well documented and there is little understanding of the motives for, and implications of, these changes on the firms, their clients and wider society. CPSFs are reviewed in the context of the more general PSF literature and a set of questions is posed for future research on CPSFs. These include the need to understand the implications of firm type on performance, the form of ownership that might confer the greatest financial benefits for different stakeholder groups, and the wider societal consequences of continuing growth in size and diversification of CPSFs.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/69027
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of the Built Environment > Organisation, People and Technology group
Uncontrolled Keywords	construction economic data, construction professional service firms, professional services, professionalism, services
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
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